23-month-old Texas child confirmed as first U.S. swine flu death, U.S. Steps Up Flu Response

State and federal officials intensified their response to the swine flu outbreak on Tuesday, with President Obama asking Congress for $1.5 billion in supplemental funding. The global response included more restrictions on travel to and from Mexico, identified as the likely origin of the outbreak and the only country to have reported deaths from swine flu. Officials there shut down schools across the country and limited restaurant service in Mexico City in an effort to curb transmission of the virus, which is suspected in the deaths of 159 people.

Dr. Richard E. Besser, the acting director of the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, termed the early days of swine flu in the United States as a “prepandemic period” and was blunt about the potential impact of this influenza. “As this moves forward,” he said, “I fully expect that we will see deaths from this infection.”

{23-month-old Texas child confirmed as first U.S. swine flu death, according to Richard Besser, acting director, CDC. according to CNN BREAKING NEWS!!}

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/health/2...